Printing press fountain



June 28, 1966 D. T. SHANK PRINTING PRESS FOUNTAIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1964 June 28, 1966 D. T. SHANK PRINTING PRESS FOUNTAIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1964 M n .E. Nu. AN on 2 Q 5 a Q 1 IX 1 QM lfl ow av g $2. m J E s it W @n l. mw mm mmfiw P A m June 28, 1966 D. T. SHANK 3,257,943

PRINTING PRESS FOUNTAIN Filed April 6, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,257,943 PRiNTING PRESS FOUNTAIN Darl T. Shank, deceased, late of Bellbrook, ()hio, by Thelma E. Shank, executrix, Bellhrook, Ohio, assignor to Harns-Intertype Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 357,365 1 Claim. (Cl. 101-364) This invention relates to an ink fountain for printing presses and the like, and particularly to improvements therein which simplify the cleaning of the fountain.

The ink fountain in a printing press provides a chamber, defined by the fountain roll and the flexible fountain blade, in which a supply of the ink to be used in the printing operation is confined. As is well known, the ink is fed from the fountain on the surface of the roll by rotating the same, and various constructions, including for example a movable ductor roll, are used to take up the ink from the surface of the fountain roll and transfer it to a printing plate. The flexible blade forms the bottom of the fountain chamber. In order to provide for proper ink-metering at this location, various adjustments are provided for align ing the blade properly with respect to the length of the roll and for adjusting the flexible lip of the blade against the surface of the roll. When it is necessary to clean the fountain, for example, when changing jobs and changing to a different color or type of ink, the blade and the fountain roll must be thoroughly scraped and cleaned, and to do this, it has generally been found necessary to separate these parts. 7

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an ink fountain construction wherein the blade can be separated from the roll without altering the position of the parts which control the precise alignment between the roll and the blade. Basically, this is accomplished by providing a hinge mounting for the blade about which the blade and its supporting structure can rotate about a fixed axis away from the roll, thereby preserving the adjustment, and at the same time permitting the upper surface of the blade which forms the bottom ofthe fountain, to be moved into a position convenient for cleaning.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an ink fountain construction wherein the blade adjusting parts are incorporated within and movable in unison with the blade mounting, such that the setting of these parts is not disturbed when the blade is moved away from the fountain roll for cleaning.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel ink fountain construction wherein the fountain blade is readily adjustable with respect to the axis of rotation of the fountain roll and with respect to its surface configura tion, and wherein the blade is moved between a normal or operative position contacting the roll, and a cleaning position away from the roll, with the blades upper surface presented in a convenient location for cleaning without alteration of the precise adjustments of the blade to the roll.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, the appended claim and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the general arrangement of an ink fountain, in accordance with the invention, with respect to the various rolls of the inker and the plate cylinder of a rotary printing press;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of an ink fountain construction in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is .a broken view of the bottom of the fountain construction shown in FIG. 2, with the drip pan removed;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the-fountain construction as seen from the left of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view of the detent and drive "ice for the fountain roll, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, used to rotate the roll manually during cleaning or adjustment;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG. 2,

but with the blade and its supporting parts swung to the open or inoperative position, as for cleaning the same, and with these parts shown in dotted lines in the normal operative position;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 2, and illustrating details of the mounting of the plate to the blade and its supports in the open position;

FIG. 8 is a detail sectional view, taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 2, and showing the relation of the parts with the blade secured in its operative position;

FIG. 9 is a detail sectional view taken through a portion of the end wall of the fountain, as indicated by the line 9-9 in FIG. 2, and illustrating the longitudinal alignment adjustment for the blade;

FIG. 10 is a detail sectional view showing the rotary seal and journal support for the ends of the fountain roll; an

FIG. 11 is an end view of the fountain construction as seen from the right in FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, which show a preferred embodiment of the invention, and particularly with reference to FIG. 1, the ink fountain is shown in dotted lines and indicated by the general reference numeral 15. Within the fountain there is the usual fountain roll 20, and operable with it is the ductor roll 22 which acts to transfer ink from the fountain roll to the various rolls of the inker. These II'OllS are of conventional construction and therefore are merely indicated by the general reference numeral 24. The ink is applied by these rolls to a printing plate mounted to a plate cylinder 25.

The opposite sides of the fountain are formed by suit able end plates or brackets 30, generally of like construction, and including outwardly extending parts 32 (FIG. 2) which are bolted to the frame of the press. Fragments of such frame are indicated at 33. The inwardly facing portions of the brackets 30 form the side walls of the fountain chamber, and incorporated in them are suitable rotary seal members 35 (FIG. 10), which form also a rotatable mounting or journal for the fountain roll 20. Extending across below the fountain roll is a tie rod 37, which is fastened to the end plates 30 in any suitable manner, and hung therebeneath is a drip pan 38 for catching any ink that might drop from the fountain roll or other adjacent parts of the fountain structure.

Referring to FIG. 9, a mounting and stop bar 40 is bolted to the ends of the brackets 30 by clamping bolts 42 which are threaded into the brackets, and which boltshave an enlarged cylindrical section 43 passing through an elongated hole 44 into the bar 40. A suitable set screw 45 is threaded through one side of the bar and extends into the hole 44 to act against the portion 43 of the clamping bolt, and the head of this bolt is provided with an enlarged section 46 (or a washer) such that tightening of the bolt fixes the adjusted position of bar 40 as determinedby the setting of the set screw. In this manner, and as more fully ex plained hereinafter, the alignment of the support bar 40,

and of the parts dependent therefrom, can be carefully adjusted and set with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fountain roll, which is also its axis of rotation.

Shaft brackets 50' are carried by the stop bar 40 and are secured thereto by suitable retaining bolts 52, as shown in FIG. 7.. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, there are preferably at least three such shaft brackets, although a greater number can be length of the fountain. ary hinge parts or means of a mounting for a pivot shaft 55, which preferably is held fixed in these brackets by means of the set screws 56, as shown in FIG. 7. This provided dependent upon the These brackets form the station- I a shaft in turn forms and defines the hinge axis about which the movable parts of the fountain can be rotated for cleaning purposes.

Rotatably mounted on the pivot shaft 55 are two or more pivot blocks 58 (shown in FIGS. 2, 3, -6 and 7). These blocks are free to rotate on the shaft 55, although they are snugged against the shaft by the set screws 59, acting through small plastic plugs Bolted to the pivot blocks 58 is a blade adjusting plate 69, the connection being provided by suitable bolts 62 as shown in FIG. 6. Bolted in turn to the plate 60 is the blade support plate 65, which is held to plate 60 by the bolts 66 as shown in FIG. 7, and the support plate carries the mountain blade 70. This is a relatively thin plate-like blade member having the main part of its body fastened to the supporting plate 65, for example by welding, and having a free and somewhat flexible lip portion 72 extending from one end of the support plate 65. It is this lip portion which terminates in a metering edge 73 adapted to contact the surface of the fountain roll 20, as shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8. The blade extends, in operative posit-ion, downwardly and toward the roll with the lip portion contacting the roll below its centerline, such as to extend somewhat beneath the roll. The upper face of the blade thus forms the bottom of the fountain chamber.

For the purpose of adjusting this contact to the surface configuration of the fountain roll there are a number of threaded thumb screws 74 which are threaded through the adjusting plate 60 to press against the under or back surface of the lip portion of the blade, as shown in the drawings.

The blade and its, supporting structure is held in the normal or operative position by means of a number of bolts 75 (FIGS. 2 and 8) which extend through the stop bar 40 and are directed to suitable sockets 76 within the support plate 65. Preferably the bolts 75 have grommets or similar rings 77 placed in an undercut section of the bolts for the purpose of providing sufiicient friction with the walls of the hole 78 in the bar 46 to retain the bolts in place when they are turned out of the threaded sockets 76 in the support plate 65.

The advantage of the above described fountain construction is best appreciated by comparison of FIGS. 4, 6, 7 and 8. The fountain roll 20 is mounted for rotation, and its axis of rotation is fixed, between the side plates 30. The blade 70 and its supporting structure is all mounted with respect to the side plates by means of the supporting stop bar and connected parts. That bar, as shown particularly in FIG. 9, can be adjusted for accurate parallel relation with respect to the fountain roll 20 by loosening the bolts 42 and appropriately manipulating the set screws 45. If the bolts '75 are released from the support plate and the fountain blade is swung to the open or cleaning position as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the adjustment of the stop bar 40 is not disturbed, thus the adjustment can be made with respect to the fountain roll and retained for a substantial period even though the fountain may be cleaned a number of times. In swinging the fountain blade about the pivot shaft 55 it may be desirable to utilize a small T-shaped wrench 80 for this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7. The end of the handle of this tool is insertable in convenient sockets or holes 82 formed in the blocks 53 opposite the end of bolt 62. It will be noted with respect to FIG. 4 that it is possible to reach under the blade mounting structure to insert this tool in a hole 82 after the bolts 75 are released by using the Wrench 80. The blade 70, plates 65 and 60, and the blocks 58 can then pivot as a unit, down and away from roll 20. Then the wrench handle can be inserted in hole 83 in the edge of plate 60, to swing the parts the rest of the way to the cleaning position (FIG. 7).

The thumb screws 74 act between the adjusting plate 60. into which they are threaded, and the flexible lip position 72 of the blade. As seen particularly in FIG. 3 there is a substantial number of these thumb. screws spaced across the fountain structure, so that the flexible lip portion can be adjusted to meter more or less ink in preselected areas across the fountain roll in accordance with the requirements of the printing plate. Again, once this adjustment is made, it will not be disturbed by swinging the blade downward and away from the roll to its opened or cleaning position about the fixed hinge axis which is defined by the pivot shaft 55. Thus, when the blade is returned to its operative position the adjustment of the blade lip to the fountain roll is retained, and under most circumstances, it is unnecessary to change this adjustment during the cleaning operation or after the parts have been restored to their operative position.

FIGS. 4 and 5 also show a manually operable pawl and ratchet mechanism which can be used for rotating the fountain roll manually, as during cleaning or adjustment. This structure is provided by a ratchet wheel 85 fixed to the shaft of the fountain roll, and a pawl carrier 87 pivotally mounted about that shaft. Within the carrier there is a reciprocably mounted rod 88 having a pawl tooth 90 formed at its inner end, to engage with any of the teeth of the ratchet wheel. The reciprocating motion of the rod 88 is limited by a stud 92 extending through an elongated slot 93 in the carrier 87. The outer end of rod 83 is provided with a suitable ball grip 94. It will be obvious that by pushing in on the rod 88,10 engage the tooth 90 with the ratchet wheel, rocking motion imparted to the rod 83 will be transmitted to the fountain roll.

FIGS. 2 and. 11 include a general illustration of the adjustable drive for rotating the fountain roll 20, in step-wise fashion during operation of the press. Mechanism of this type is well known, and details of this mechanism form no part of the present invention. Therefore, only a general description of it is included herein for purposes of reference. The crank 10% is connected to impart reciprocating motion, from a suitable drive in the printing press which is timed. to the press operation, when the press is on impression. This crank is connected to reciprocate a lever member 102 carrying a pawl 104, and the lever member is mounted to pivot around the axis of rotation of the fountain roll by a suitable mounting structure. The pawl is engageable with a ratchet wheel 195 fixed to the extended end shaft of the fountain roll.

Thus in one direction the pawl will impart a rotary drive motion to the fountain roll, and when the lever member is rocked in the opposite direction the pawl will drag over the teeth of the ratchet wheel. The adjusting rod 168 is attached to a masking member having a port-ion (not shown) which can extend between the pawl 104 and ratchet wheel 105, to hold the pawl away from the ratchet wheel. Thus, the masking member will determine the location at which the pawl first engages or picks up the ratchet wheel during a driving movement. By adjusting the position of the masking member it is thus possible to adjust the amount of rotary motion actually imparted to the ratchet wheel during any one reciprocation of lever member 102. The toothed segment 112 is formed as a part of the masking member and is held in position by the manually operable detent 114 to locate the masking member in any set position.

As is well known, during operation of the press this stepped rotary movement of the fountain roll will cause a certain amount of ink in the fountain to be carried on the surface of the fountain roll to the ductor roll 22, and the ink transferred to that roll will in turn be carried by it over to the various rolls of the inker where such ink is spread and smoothed so as to be applied uniformly to the surface of a plate on the plate cylinder 25.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In apparatus of the character described, the combination of a fountain roll, spaced end plates including journals rotatably supporting said roll near its ends, a supporting structure including a bar connecting said end plates and extending generally parallel to and spaced from said roll, adjusting means acting between said end plates and said bar for adjusting each end of said bar toward and away from said roll, an inclined fountain blade adapted for metering ink between a metering edge thereof and said roll and forming with said roll and said end plates a chamber for containing ink, a supporting plate to which said fountain blade is securely fastened, hinge means having portions carried by said bar and by said supporting plate for enabling pivotal movement of said supporting plate and said fountain blade between a first position in which the blade is operative with its metering edge against said roll and a second position wherein said blade is swung clear of and spaced from said roll, said hinge means comprising brackets depending from said bar at each end thereof adjacent said end plates, a shaft parallel to said bar and secured to said brackets, and a plurality of pivot blocks secured to and depending from i said supporting plate and mounted for pivotal movement on said shaft, said pivot blocks being located between said bar and said fountain roll with said fountain blade and said supporting plate in said first position to enable said fountain blade and said supporting plate to be swung downwardly and away from said roll, said blade having its metering edge contacting said roll below the axis thereof, and means for releasably securing said supporting plate to said bar when said fountain blade is in said first position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,292,344 8/1942 Heller et al. 101157 2,328,990 9/1943 Meyer 101364 2,514,556 7/1950 Peyrebrune et al. 101364 2,534,670 12/1950 Harrold 101364 2,550,454 4/1951 Crafts et al. 101-157 2,777,388 1/1957 Meyer 101-364 3,006,275 10/1961 Allen 101-169 X ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

JULIUS R. FISHER, Assistant Examiner. 

